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If you’re like me, and you hate those stupid Under Armour logos on the outfield doors at Wrigley Field, this is good news:

The Chicago Cubs baseball team has sued Under Armour Inc, charging the athletic clothing and shoe maker with reneging on a five-year sponsorship agreement worth $10.8 million.

The Cubs, in documents filed in a U.S. District Court in Chicago on January 22, said Under Armour breached a contract in which it agreed to pay the Cubs more than $2 million a season from 2009 through 2013.

Under the deal, the Cubs would display Under Armour’s company logo on the outfield doors at its home park of Wrigley Field, and the Baltimore-based company would receive the right to use the Cubs logo, according to court documents.

Of course, I have to admit that even if that sort of thing is good news for aesthetic purposes, it’s bad news for baseball. There are countless companies hemorrhaging money in this poo sandwich of an economy, and you can bet that as things continue to go bad, they’re going to cut back or, as Under Armour is alleged to have done, renege on sports sponsorship deals.

maybe then salaries will start to fall more in line and teams will have to stop overpaying for mediocre talent. the yankees lost general motors and we have not heard of another major sponsor jumping on to replace them despite the new stadium.

maybe when more teams feel the pinch, things will change on their own.

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8 years 7 months ago

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Pete Toms

Good article yesterday at Bloomberg re. declining sponsorship dollars in pro sports ( amongst other industries ). That’s not a surprise to any of us, but according to somebody quoted in the piece ( I don’t recall who ), it’s not just a straight matter of dollars and cents. The zeitgeist (sic?) has changed and corporations are more reluctant to be associated with these deals…. @ go zips – yes salaries are falling because revenues are falling. Look at the free agent market this offseason ( and ignore the Yankees, they are the exception ). And teams have not been… Read more »